Bellamy-Small has never enjoyed a comfortable relationship with the press, and her response was given in the form of a written statement handed out at the end of tonight's council meeting:
It is irresponsible to attempt to pit one district against the other because, in fact, our true role as representatives of the people of Greensboro is to foster a city of common ground, common need and common well-being. We will only achieve this by working together instead of being at odds with each other.
John Hammer's story in the Rhino is explicitly framed as a retort to Bellamy-Small:
"East Greensboro doesn't get anything" is a mantra that is repeated at City Council meeting after City Council meeting.
District 1 Councilmember Dianne Bellamy-Small brings it up all the time. And District 2 Councilmember Jim Kee joins in the chorus, but not as often or as loudly as former District 2 City Councilmember Goldie Wells did when she was on the council. Representatives of the Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro often repeat the same theme during speakers from the floor.
Wade has not responded to requests from YES! Weekly for comment on her request for data, but the Rhino's John Hammer characterizes her motives without quoting her directly:
District 5 City Councilmember Trudy Wade finally got tired of all the rhetoric and asked the city staff for some facts on how much money the city spends on each council district and how much the city receives in property taxes from each district.
Based on his analysis of data provided by city staff, Hammer concludes that the city has spent three times as much on infrastructure in District 1 over the past 10 years as in District 5. An analysis by YES! Weekly in tomorrow's paper arrives at quite a different conclusion.
Bellamy-Small proposes in a white paper distributed to the press that the city implement a "community indicators system" to gauge equity in development, taking a page out of the Connections 2025 Comprehensive Plan, which calls for the creation of "an ongoing housing and neighborhood condition monitoring strategy."
From Bellamy-Small's "Greensboro Indicators White Paper":
A community indicators system would have numerous benefits for Greensboro, including:
* Help identify neighborhoods or areas that are most in need of enhanced city services, additional or upgraded city facilities, neighborhood or area planning assistance:
* Provide city staff with required data for grant applications;
* Help city council members better understand conditions affecting their constituents;
* Provide data for the next update to Connections 2025 and other long-range plans;
* Help guide development of the city's budget and capital improvement program; and
* Monitor progress in implementing goals and policies of adopted plans.
A personal note: Speaking as both a citizen and a journalist -- and as someone who lives in District 3, works in District 5 and whose wife has family in District 1 -- I can think of no more vital question than the one that is implicit in Wade's request: How is taxpayer money spent and to whose benefit? I hope an open and constructive conversation can take place around this question -- one that includes Wade's full participation.
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